It was just over a year ago that Seattle Seahawks defensive lineman Rylie Mills tore his ACL in Notre Dame’s opening round win over Indiana in the College Football Playoff. While Notre Dame made it to the National Championship Game, ultimately losing to Ohio State, Mills’ college career was cut short at the worst possible time and he was unable to play.
Fast forward to three weeks ago, and Mills’ rookie season in the NFL started late but ended with him recording his first career sack in the Super Bowl.
While Mills only played five snaps in Seattle’s win over the New England Patriots, two of those plays ended in Seahawks sacks, so 40 percent of the time Mills was on the field meant bad news for Drake Maye.
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Field Gulls spoke to Mills during Super Bowl media availability week and asked him about how much he’s looking forward a full offseason under his belt to learn Mike Macdonald’s defense.
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“That’ll be great,” Mills said. “I’m really excited. I feel like that was the toughest part was just coming in after having a whole offseason surgery and all that stuff. It’s been really cool to feel like myself again and feel fully back and have that time to develop and get better.”
Mills almost certainly would’ve been higher up the draft board if not for his injury, but he was available for the Seahawks in the fifth round. Seattle made a big trade (by Day 3 standards) to get someone who could be a long-term part of Seattle’s already fearsome defensive front.
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The development of Mills in his second season will easily be one of the more exciting storylines to watch out of Seattle’s 2025 draft class.
How the Seahawks acquired Rylie Mills
It turns out the Minnesota Vikings had a bigger role in Seattle’s Super Bowl success than just letting Sam Darnold walk to the Seahawks in free agency.
The Seahawks were set to pick at No. 172 when John Schneider struck a deal to go 30 spots up in Round 5. In exchange for the trade up, the Minnesota Vikings received backup quarterback Sam Howell in addition to Seattle’s fifth-round pick.
Seattle snagged Mills, while Howell was traded to the Philadelphia Eagles before the regular season started. The Vikings traded away the Seattle pick to the Los Angeles Rams, who drafted linebacker Chris ‘Pooh’ Paul Jr, who was surprisingly waived and eventually added to the Seahawks practice squad.
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Minnesota turned Seattle’s picks into a pair of sixth-rounders, linebacker Kobe King and tight end Gavin Bartholomew. King was let go midseason while Bartholomew is still on the Vikings but hasn’t played yet due to injury.
The upside of having comp picks again
That fifth-rounder given up by the Seahawks was a compensatory pick. They had three comp picks to play with in 2025 after having none since 2020. Sometimes those extra picks aren’t about directly using them for players, but having the increased capital to move around the board a bit in the NFL Draft.
Seattle’s fourth-round comp pick went to the New England Patriots in a trade down to 144, after which the Seahawks traded that pick to the Cleveland Browns and got picks 166 and 192 in exchange. Schneider used 192 on guard Bryce Cabeldue, while Tory Horton was chosen at 166.
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Fullback Robbie Ouzts was the Seahawks’ only “no trades” draft pick via compensatory selection.
So in a somewhat roundabout way, the Seahawks turned their first comp picks in five years (plus Sam Howell) into Rylie Mills, Tory Horton, Robbie Ouzts, and Bryce Cabeldue. They also drafted Damien Martinez with an additional pick the Patriots sent them, but Martinez did not make the active roster.
Seattle will not have any comp picks in 2026, but depending on how many prominent free agents they let go, combined with a conservative approach to free agent signings, Schneider could be back in the comp pick pool for 2027.
Anyway, thank you again to the Vikings! I’m sure it was John Schneider’s pleasure doing business with now former Vikings GM and current San Francisco 49ers personnel executive Kwesi Adofo-Mensah.
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